I used to work in a fashion showroom and over the years bought some professional clothing including designer pant suits (from sample sales, employee discounts etc).
My next job was for a real estate development company. My boss actually called me into his office to tell me I had to wear skirts, the designer pantsuits were not acceptable office attire.
We can’t win, I guess.
@OHMomof2 I have a friend who is a lawyer who had mentioned that some judges in the south required female lawyers to wear skirts in their court rooms.
People seem to really love telling women what to wear.
Yea, my law firm strongly recommended that us female attorneys wear skirts back in the 80s. As a judge, my clothing (though it was covered by a robe) was critiqued). That just seemed very wrong to me!
Wow. I have never thought of professional dress between men and woman that way. But I find myself expressing a double standard. Being honest here. Seeing a man’s arms in a professional setting is not appropriate. Only long sleeves are proper. (can you tell my age? I was not a part of the whole dot com wear pajamas to work culture)
Double standard? Absolutely. Just the way it is. And men should also keep the hair short. No long hair either! Hahaha.
@HImom Law, Accounting,and Finance firms all insisted that women wear skirts back in the 80’s. It was just expected as proper business attire. Times have changed.
As a judge, would you be offended if council showed up in a tee shirt in your courtroom? I do not think it is asking too much to ask people to dress with a certain degree of formality.
When you’re wearing a robe, I fail to see how it matters what is UNDER the robe. I agree that dressing with respect is important but don’t see micromanaging women’s attire as a good thing.
“TV studios are very hot due to all the lighting.” – actually, it’s the opposite.
Because of all that lighting (and very expensive electronics) studios are kept very cold.
When news gets to be too much (often, these days) I escape into escapist TV. Last Tuesday, for example, I stayed away from election coverage and binged on “The Crown” instead.
In general, nothing calms me as much as cooking shows, though house hunting shows come close.
And the baking shows – the British originals and the new American version – so mellow, the antics kept to such a minimum, the competitors so genuinely nice to one another, that it’s been a great escape.
So it was a rude shock to hear that ABC pulled The Great American Baking Show because of a series of sexual harassment complaints against one of the judges.
It’s made me wonder is there any safety anywhere? Is there no corner of American culture untouched by the seedy, gross realities of men in power?
It’s a rhetorical question, BTW. More of a rant, really. But increasingly I feel that I need to take a long hot shower after getting even a glimpse of the news.
What woman can honestly say she’s surprised at how many sex pests and sex monsters are being exposed? We might be surprised which men are sex pests and sex monsters, but the number of them? Not a shock.
It’s sad to see again and again how power is abused. 
IDK if anyone on camera is held to the same professional clothing standard as someone who isn’t. The line blurs there between “professional” to “entertainer” and looks matter much more.
Most TV news personalities don’t really choose their own outfits anyway, or they do so in conjunction with a stylist/wardrobe person who works for the network.
https://fashionista.com/2015/11/morning-tv-anchors-style
https://www.glamour.com/story/behind-the-scenes-of-a-newswom
MODERATOR’S NOTE: The thread is drifting way off topic. Please rein it in.
^^^^Agree that we have shifted away from the topic of assault/harassment. There is a huge difference between “not appropriate business attire” and “the way some women dress just invites sexual harassment.” No. Women don’t “invite” abuse of power, they don’t “invite” unwanted touching or sexual assault. Those would be oxymorons. When a woman (or man) “invites” a sexual behavior, that is called consensual activity. The victims noted in this thread have made clear that the actions perpetrated against them were definitely NOT wanted. People who abuse their power are getting a sense of satisfaction from wielding it against those who have less power, not against those who dress in a certain way. The woman who made that statement should know better, and she was rightly called out on it. I wish one of the women present had done so at the time.
There is an exhibit featuring the clothing worn by sexual assault victims* that illustrates the fact that it’s not a person’s clothes which are responsible for sexual violence.
Apologies if that has already been referenced. This thread is 28 pages, and is only one of several which have been started in recent weeks, so I don’t remember what has and has not been related.
*ETA: not the actual clothing, but as close as possible to that described by the victims
Article in 538 about sexual misconduct targeting women in lower paid jobs:
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-metoo-moment-hasnt-reached-women-in-low-wage-jobs-will-it/
I can honestly say I am seriously shocked at the number of horrible sex pests and sex monsters in this country. The last month has severely challenged my sense of reality and I’m having some difficulty dealing with it all, which is of course, a rather ridiculous thing for me to say: I am having difficulty dealing with the fact so many of my sisters have had to deal with sex pests and monsters. So I’ve just not participated in any of the threads thus far. But I’m reading right along and will do my very best to be part of the much needed change.
It has certainly opened my husbands eyes. He had no clue it was so widespread.
Sadly my D us not at all surprised, just sad. She’s 28 and has heard about peers, Silicon Valley and more. She lives in LA and does cinema.
What I’m liking in the endless stories about sex pests and sex monsters is the complete repudiation of the bogus “Why didn’t she” complaints. She DID complain. She DID report to her superiors. She DID refuse to trade sex for a job. She DID say no no no no no. She DID slap him and run out of the room. She DID quit her job and find another job. She DID sue him.
And he kept on being a sex monster.
I feel like the balance of power between men and women is finally changing. Because, of course, this issue is about power, not sex.
Kristen Gillibrand not letting Trump get away with his tweet about her is another example. And did you all see that USA Today editorial about it?? It fully articulated the fact that Trump called Gillibrand a whore in the tweet.
I heard an interview with a woman this morning who stopped wearing skirts and dresses to work or on airplanes after being groped. She didn’t feel safe. It’s not the first time I’ve heard this.
So good that the tide is turning!